title: Desperately seeking science: the creation of knowledge in family practice.
abstract: Most medical consultations are for self-limiting conditions. While technical expertise remains necessary, creating therapeutic knowledge in this context is the joint responsibility of physician and patient, and depends upon recognition that the observer, the observation, and the observed form a temporary union.
authors.affiliation: Randleman Family Health Center, NC.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D026706:Paternalism; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D035501:Uncertainty